Current therapeutic options for end stage heart failure patients are primarily focused on palliative and hospice care. Unfortunately, heart transplantation and left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy is restricted to approximately 2,500 patients each year. LVAD therapy, which provides full circulatory support for heart failure patients, comes at the price of invasiveness, 24-hour care, and reduced quality of life for the remainder of the patient's life. Current LVAD devices are used as a permanent solution for heart failure and are cumbersome due to the restrictions posed on the patient. As a result, the majority of patients who present with heart failure are not considered LVAD candidates. Thus, there is a large group of patients with heart failure who do not have any other option but medications only. A large number of otherwise potential candidates are considered surgically high risk, while others are turned down for permanent therapy due to lack of family or long-term support. For patient's that require more temporary treatment, LVADs can be used as a bridge to implantation or an alternative heart failure treatment.
One of the major characteristics of patients with heart failure is repeated hospital admission with heart failure decompensation separated by intervals of stable periods. Heart failure is characterized by episodes of circulatory decompensation followed by phases of recovery until the onset of end organ dysfunction. Hemodynamic recovery mandates hospital admission and medical therapy targeted at relieving heart failure symptoms rather than increasing cardiac output. These patients are usually managed by diuresis and optimizing their cardiac function followed by discharge. Therefore, a need exists in the art for a heart failure recovery device and therapy that more effectively and efficiently addresses failing cardiac output of heart failure patients, and further, minimizes hospital readmission rates for heart failure patients. Further, a need exist for a device that is less cumbersome than traditional LVADs for patients that need temporary treatment of heart failure as a bridge to a transplant or an alternative therapy.